Coronavirus will be an issue for us all for a very long time to come - Crooked Spire vicar’s column

These words were spoken in the shadow of the Great Depression with a frightening level of unemployment and poverty.

On this side of the Atlantic, in Britain there were among other things hunger marches, riots, and soup kitchens in devastated industrial communities, and it was only just over a month since Hitler had become Chancellor of Germany with promises to rebuild the bankrupt nation.

Roosevelt’s job was to start justifying his election by getting the economy up and running and getting people back into work – giving his people the sort of security in which they and their families could thrive.

Even though the danger from Covid-19 is not quite as acute as it was only a few weeks ago, all the indications, and comments like ‘we’re not out of the woods yet’, suggest that this will be an issue for all of us for a very long time to come.

During that time, we as a nation are going to have to survive and regain some of the security that has been lost while survival has been the principal agenda item.

One of the most telling things I’ve noticed over the past weeks has been the level of fear people have.

It’s understandable – to stop the rampant spread of the disease we are naturally presented with worst-case scenarios and death statistics.

This is why you can quite often see people who are out getting their exercise or doing their shopping, but they look as if every person they see is a mortal threat – which would only be the case where they are not observing proper distancing and hygiene.

Our leaders, both national and local, are going to have to reckon with this as they try to do their job of getting the nation and its economy back on their feet.

If people are frozen with fear they will certainly not work at their best, if indeed they can work at all.

John the Apostle writes wisely: ‘Perfect love casts out fear’ – a saying that is true for all.

There will have to be a real sense of security and support at all levels and in all places if that paralysing fear is not to hold us all back as we try to recover while learning to live with this virus which will not suddenly go away.

When promising to get people back to work, Roosevelt went on to say: ‘There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act...’

During lockdown, words have been the only tool some could use because action was simply impossible for so many, as they watched others acting tirelessly and selflessly for the safety of all.

The time is not far away when we will all have to overcome our fears, leave the words behind, and act for each other’s good.

Keep safe and keep well.